Inspector Rose - The Price of Memory
by ohmoveoveralohomora
Summary: Rose is back for more mystery and magic in her third major case. News of Rose's exploits has spread far and wide, and she finds herself offered an internship at the Ministry of Magic. However this work experience may turn out to be more of a curse than a blessing. This time, the stakes are high. Can Rose stop the secrets of the Wizarding World from being revealed once and for all?
1. Chapter 1

Rose kept her hands wrapped tightly around Scorpius' waist as the sound of her laughter was ripped from her mouth by the roaring wind. Her startling red hair flowed out behind her as Scorpius dipped the broom into a steep dive.

"Where are we going?" She bent over and spoke into his ear.

"I told you, it's a surprise," he replied without turning around. They flattened out and streaked across the quidditch pitch, so close to the ground that Rose's feet nearly touched the tips of the blades of grass. Although her parents had given her her first broom for her sixteenth birthday at the start of term, Rose still loved flying with Scorpius, and took any opportunity or excuse to share his broom, though they rarely had time to do anything together now, what with the stepping up of revision for their OWLs, the continued stream of fan letters and mysteries for Rose to solve, and her added prefect duties. Now they'd managed to find a few hours in which they could actually go on a date - their first official one, Scorpius had pointed out to her.

Scorpius touched down on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, next to a small stream that ran out of the woods. They clambered off the broom and walked over to a large tree that provided dappled shade from the warm sun.

"It's so quiet," Rose marvelled. Even though there were scores of students lazing around the lake and grounds, chatting and laughing loudly, none of them could be heard from the little hideaway Scorpius had found.

"That's why I like it," he said as he pulled a basket of food out from underneath the tree. "I got some lunch for us from the kitchens," he started laying out sandwiches, cakes and pumpkin juice. "And yes, I paid the house-elves," he added, anticipating Rose's question.

"Thank you," she smiled and took a ham sandwich but eyed the pumpkin juice.

"I promise it's not poisoned," Scorpius grinned and took a sip from his own. "See?" His smiled faded as if he was remembering the occasion.

"Yeah," Rose drank some in an effort to stop him from worrying. "It's all fine now," she leant against his shoulder. "And thank Merlin for that," Scorpius sighed and put his arm around her shoulders.

"You," he said, putting his drink down and playing witGh a strand of her hair, "are a very difficult person to protect, Rose Weasley." Rose blew on his nose, which was right next to her cheek.

"Then maybe I don't need protecting," she grinned. "If you can't do it, there's no way anybody else could." She rested her face on his chest and put her food down.

"I didn't say I couldn't do it," he stroked her head, "I said that you make it extremely hard."

"Just keeping you on your toes," she quipped back. "We can't have you getting lazy now, can we?" She looked up at him, his serious face the opposite of her joking expression.

"No, we can't have that," he replied, and his expression softened as he leaned in to kiss her. His hands tangled in her hair and she spread her fingers across his back. Rose let herself get lost in the kiss as she always did, welcoming the chance to forget about everything else except the one person that mattered most - him. She realised that she hadn't kissed Scorpius properly for weeks, and wondered how she could have survived without him. There was something about having his lips on hers that was both calming and exciting at the same time, soothing and yet fast ...

A cat meowed and they jumped apart to see a silvery tabby floating in front of them - a patronus. Morose and Scorpius looked at each other as the realised that it was McGonagall's. She could have seen them, could she? Why on earth had she sent them a patronus message? Then the cat's mouth opened and began to speak in their Headmistress' voice.

"Miss Weasley," it started, "I wish to see you in my office as soon as is convenient for you - though I would urge it to be sooner rather than later, as you have a visitor and it would not be in your best interests to keep him waiting. If your ... companions or companion," the car paused enigmatically, "would like to join you then they are most welcome."

The patronus disappeared in a wisp of silvery cloud. Rose looked at Scorpius, who moved his head noncommittally.

"I guess we'd better go," she said.

"Yes, I guess we'd better," Scorpius replied dejectedly, looking at the food spread out before them.

About ten minutes later, Rose and Scorpius stood at the entrance of the Headmistress' office.

"I could just tell them the password, you know," Scorpius whispered to her.

"How do you - no, I don't even want to know," she shook her head, though she was grinning. The gargoyles leapt aside and Rose started up the stairs, followed closely behind by Scorpius.

"Mr Flynn, this is Miss Weasley and Mr Malfoy," Professor McGonagall announced as they walked into her office to see a tall young wizard standing next to the Headmistress. "Miss Weasley, this is Mr Flynn, the head of Magical Investigation at the Ministry, which is a part of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," she gestured to the man, who Rose thought looked rather young for a head of department, even if it was a sub-department. "Mr Flynn here has a proposal for you," Professor McGonagall continued. "I have given my consent, so it is up to you whether you choose to accept it." Mr Flynn stepped forward and shook Rose's hand.

"I'm here to offer you a student placement in my department," he explained. "Every so often, the Ministry offers promising wizards or witches a part time place in a department, and after your recent efforts the Minister has suggested that you may benefit from a placement in the Investigation sector," he looked at her and Rose felt rather overwhelmed. Her, a student at the Ministry? It was hard to imagine. "You'd come over during your free classes and stay until the evening," Flynn explained. "So you wouldn't be missing any classes. I understand you are free after lunch at least once, so you'd be able to come then until the Ministry shuts. Your Headmistress will organise for you to be able to use the Floo Network to get to us," he motioned towards McGonagall. The room was silent for a second. "So, do you think you'd be interested?" Rose blinked a few times. Losing time to study and relax to go and file papers, brew coffee and solve petty crimes at the Ministry?

"Definitely," she replied. Now she had a clear path - after Hogwarts, she could become a professional investigator! Rose had always been unsure as to what path she'd take in her career, and sometimes felt pressured to do exceptional things because of her parents. Now here as her chance to make a name for herself from her own achievements. She looked back at Scorpius, who was frowning at Flynn - she had no idea what was up with him, but hopefully he'd tell her later. Professor McGonagall was looking proud and satisfied, but as for Flynn, Rose couldn't tell what he was feeling from his face.

"We'll see you on Monday, then," he replied, and Rose couldn't help a small grin from creeping onto her face. She was going to the Ministry.


	2. Chapter 2

"Bye," Rose waved to the group gathered around her as she took a handful of Floo powder and stepped into the Gryffindor common room fireplace. Some of her friends and family had come to see her off - Lily, Scorpius and Hugo were among the ones standing around the fire grate, though others just happened to be in the common room at the time - James and his friends were lounging around on the couches across the room.

Everyone turned and waved back to her, offering words of encouragement and teasing her (though 'beat those sorry officials, Rosie!' from Sam Wood could have been taken either way). As she released the dust from her hand, she glanced over to Scorpius. He was smiling as well, but something seemed off. He'd been acting a little strangely for the past few days - ever since she'd been offered the placement at the Ministry, really. Hopefully they'd sort it out later. As the powder hit the flames in an explosion of green, she said "Ministry of Magic, visitors' entrance," clearly and the fire swirled to black around her.

Rose blinked the soot out of her eyes as her feet landed on solid ground once more.

"Ah, Miss Weasley," she looked up to see Flynn smiling at her. "I've filled out all your paperwork, so there's no need for you to do anything - oh, and here's your identification," he added, handing Rose a gold token about the size of a galleon, but silver. It had the Ministry symbol on one side, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement logo on the other, and her name, date of birth, placement title ('work experience student') and other information swirling around the edges.

"Keep that safe," Flynn advised her. "It'll let you get in through the employees fireplaces instead of this one here in reception." Rose tucked it into her robes pocket. She hadn't had time to change, and wasn't sure what she would wear anyway, as she'd only just had time to eat lunch in the Great Hall and then race up to the common room to get the Floo network in time. She didn't feel too out of place, though, as all the Ministry officials were wearing robes of different colours - blue for Maintenance, black for Law Enforcement and reds, greys, browns and greens for the other departments.

Flynn led her through a door into the Atrium and across to the lifts.

"You'll be working with my team whilst you're here, on whichever case we happen to be tackling at the time," he explained as they passed the huge statue of various mythical creatures and famous witches and wizards, which was right in the centre of the Atrium. "We're called the Magical Investigation and Dangerous Activity Squad, or MIDAS for short. Our office is on level two with all the other Magical Law Enforcement squads, though we haven't got an awful lot of space," Flynn stopped and pressed the button to call the lift.

"Why's that?" Rose asked.

"We aren't really that important,"Flynn replied. Rose couldn't be sure if he was complaining, accepting or annoyed. "It's not that often that we get any really vital work, not like the Aurors or Reversal Squads," he explained. "Luckily for you, though, we've got a case right now and it's got heads really turning." The lift doors opened and a cool female voice said, "Level 2, the Atrium," as a witch walked out accompanied by flying pieces of purple notepaper, a wizard carrying a long, thin, telescope-like contraption and another wizard in green robes who avoided Rose's eye. She followed Flynn into the elevator and the doors snapped close. He pressed the number 8 button on the side wall and the lift started slowly downwards.

"So, what's this mysterious case you were telling me about?" Rose inquired curiously. Flynn grinned at her.

"If I told you it was a robbery, would you believe me?"

"It'd have to be some robbery!" Rose's eyes widened.

"Oh, and it is," Flynn replied cryptically. A few seconds passed.

"So are you going to tell me, or not?" She moaned, patience wearing thin.

"No, I'd better show you - and anyway, you've got to meet the team first!" Rose rolled her eyes in good humour and started pointedly at the doors until they opened with a bell-like sound.

"Level 8, Department of Magical Law Enforcement," the woman informed them as they stepped out into the Hall. Rose could see her mum's office straight ahead of them, but she figured that the Head of the Department wouldn't be lagging around after her lunch break - most likely she was in some kind of meeting. Anyway, Rose didn't want to go running to her mum. She was here to work, and because she'd earned it, not because her mum was the boss around here.

Flynn beckoned her down a large corridor the branched off into numerous smaller ones. Eventually they walked down a cramped passageway and her mentor pushed open a nondescript wooden door, ushering her inside and closing it behind him. The room she found herself in was not particularly spacious, though neither was it overly cramped.

It was filled with desk cubicles - about 8 in all - as well as a small kitchenette at the back with coffee and tea cups stacked on a bench with a sink, stovetop and tap for what Rose assumed was hot water. In the centre of the room was a large table scattered with pieces of paper. A large blackboard covered one wall and had mostly indecipherable scribbling and a few maps sketched on it.

Before Rose could take a closer look, Flynn pulled her aside and started walking past the cubicles, knocking on the walls and poking his head through the doorways.

"Come on, Midas, get up and out here before I have to levitate you!" He called, and slowly 5 wizards emerged from their desks. "Gentlemen, this is Miss Weasley, I'm sure you've all heard of her so there's not much more to say," Flynn swept his arm towards her and then away again. Rose felt a little miffed - wasn't she allowed to introduce herself? Even a stupid 'I like reading and chocolate' would have been better than the members of Midas relying on the Daily Prophet for a summary of her character.

"Miss Weasley, this is Poxley," a middle-aged man with light brown, wiry hair and a nasty-looking burn on his face tipped his oversized glasses at her.

"Dougherty," Flynn pointed to a young wizard who looked like he hadn't been out of Hogwarts very long - in fact, Rose thought he looked familiar. His black robes were neat and his dark blond hair slicked back tidily, though he fidgeted with his tie and looked nervously at her.

"Maxwell," was a man who looked to be in his early fifties, with kind blue eyes and a little extra weight Round his middle. He shook Rose's hand warmly.

"Lester," Flynn motioned to another similarly aged wizard to himself. Lester was extremely tall and lean, with beady eyes but not an unkind smile. Rose thought that he seemed a fair and just person - someone who would treat her well if she proved she deserved it.

"And Thompson," the last man stepped forward, an old wizard with greying hair, gnarled hands and knowing eyes.

"So, boys, let's get Miss Weasley up to date with our case," Flynn grinned and led them over to the paper-covered table. "Dougherty, you can start," her mentor gestured to the young wizard. Dougherty fumbled around with the pieces of parchment and managed to find the one he needed. Smoothing it out with his white fingers, he cleared his throat and began.

"The case, which has been named 'The Invisible Man', began when two shops in Diagonal Alley were broken into and had various goods stolen. A week later, similar items went missing from wizarding enterprises around London. The Invisible Man really began to draw attention, though, after 20 successful shoplifting a and one Ministry break-in, which occurred last week. Each time, very similar items were stolen and the robber left no trace, magical or otherwise." Dougherty got more comfortable as he continued, and Rose could tell he really loved his job - she would too, if she got paid to solve cases like this.

"Okay - Poxley, crime scene reports," Flynn nodded to the balding wizard. Poxley adjusted his glasses and started talking whilst rummaging around for documents.

"None of the shops showed any sign of break-in, whether magical or physical. There was disturbance inside and around the places where the stolen items were stored, but no human traces. It is impossible to figure out who was in there last, as the enterprises are busy and have many customers. If it had been a disused place, then maybe we could trace our criminal," the wizard shrugged. "But our Invisible Man - or woman," he added, nodding towards Rose. "He or she is clever, and they won't be tricked or caught easily."

Poxley held up a couple of moving photos of the shops. They showed empty shelves and boxes that had been rifled through - containing all kinds of things, from potion ingredients, cauldrons and dragon hide to crystal balls and magical plants.

"Now - Lester, stolen items," Flynn urged them on. The tall man picked up a list from the middle of the table with long, slender fingers.

"The Invisible Man seems to keep coming back to similar items. He's stolen pounds and pounds of potion ingredients, some telescopes and a couple of cauldrons - strangely, mostly second-hand or destroyed, which would only be useful for the metal." Lester slid his fingers further down the page. "Dragon hide and other animal products were taken, some complicated instruments used in Alchemy and other gimmicks like Sneakoscopes and even joke shop items." Uncle George's shop! Rose thought. She didn't know it'd been broken in to. "Strangely, no money and no live animals were taken." Lester folded the list up carefully and tucked it under a pile of parchment balancing precariously.

"Maxwell, dates," Flynn seemed quite excited now. The round man took a deep breath and began to talk as if reciting a list or prepared speech.

"The first break-in occurred about 9 weeks ago, and the thief has been targeting shops and other places every 6 days since then, with an 8 day break every third robbery." Rose frowned. Why would such an intelligent and sly burglar follow such an easy to discover plan? "If he continues in this way, the next attack should be tomorrow." Maxwell relaxed a bit and smiled at her. "So I suggest that you come in - you might get to see a crime scene," he winked.

"And Thompson, motive." Flynn turned to the oldest - and Rose suspected, most highly respected - member of Midas.

"The only option we've come up with yet is that the thief is stealing to sell - he's running a Black Market," the old wizard rubbed his rheumatic fingers. "Though I think there's more behind this." Rose nodded and stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts.

"I think so too," she agreed. The group sat in silence for a few moments until Flynn announced, "Tea and coffee break!" and the wizards all flocked to the kitchenette, leaving Rose smiling bemusedly.

"... Flynn is amazing, he'll figure it out in no time," Rose was explaining her afternoon animatedly to Scorpius.

"That's great, Rose," he smiled tiredly. Rose stopped, confused.

"Aren't you happy for me?" Her voice dropped along with her eyes. Scorpius shifted in the common room couch.

"I - I think I'd better go to bed," he said, and stood up to leave.

"Scorp," Rose looked down at her hands. What had she done wrong? He turned away from her.

"Fine," she whispered, and he walked briskly out of the portrait hole. "Fine!" She yelled after him, and, embarrassingly, felt her eyes brim with tears.

The Fat Lady swung closed, and Rose sobbed. What in Merlin's name had she done? She'd had a wonderful day, and Scorpius had to go ruin it. Well, whatever. He could stalk off if he wanted. She wasn't going to let him stop her from doing what she wanted. Wiping years from her eyes, Rose climbed up to her dormitory, and, even though it was early, she curled up on her bed, and cried for the rest of the night. No one could hear her, of course, as she'd cast the muffliato charm and even in a distressed mood, Rose's charms always worked to perfection.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose's eyes fluttered open lethargically as she heard the other girls in her dorm getting up. She lay in her bed for a second, her mind ticking over, and then remembered what had happened last night. She reached up with one hand to rub her left eye - great, her cheeks were tear-stained and her eyes had to be badly bloodshot, judging by how they felt. She couldn't let anyone see her like this - not her friends, certainly not Scorpius. Rose slid her wand out from under her pillow and touched it to her nose.

"Vacuo discede," she whispered, recalling a spell she'd learnt from her cousin Dom, and it had become very useful for mornings. Rose smiled grimly as she felt her skin clear up - at least from tears - and her eyes felt less dry and sandy. Taking one final deep breath, she stood up and steeled herself for the day ahead, dreading having to see Scorpius, who would definitely be in at least one of her classes today. Then she pulled her covers back and pushed herself up into a sitting position, yawning.

"Hey, Rose," Maddie Bell looked up briefly from rummaging through her trunk.

"Morning," she replied, stepping tentatively onto the cold stone floor - she'd gotten up on the other side of the bed to the warm rug that usually covered the bluestone. Quickly, Rose tidied her bed and reached into her own trunk for a pair of robes.

"You finished in there, yet, Rhea?" Annie Finnigan yelled at the bathroom door, which was bolted shut.

"Nope!" Rhea's voice floated through the wood, and Rose would have sworn that Rhea was smiling wickedly in front of the mirror.

"Rhea Smith! Get out here now!" Annie fumed, though everyone could see she was trying desperately not to burst out laughing as well.

As she pulled her robes on, Rose looked around for Lizzie Jordan, but couldn't see her in the dorm. Lizzie was probably with Fred and Roxy, working on some kind of prank. Though Fred was in his fourth and Roxy in her third year, Lizzie loved hanging out with them - after all, their dads had been best friends in their Hogwarts days. Rose had to admit that they made a pretty good team; they never ceased to amazed her with their original and innovative joke ideas. Of course, their many pranks were helped with a huge supply of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, which came monthly from Uncle George, though Rose wasn't sure that Fred and Roxy's mum, Aunt Angelina, knew about the deliveries.

As Rose was adjusting her tie, Rhea burst out of the bathroom, looking perfect as always - she somehow managed to put enough makeup on that not a single blemish was visible, but so that it didn't look as if she'd caked it on. Rolling her eyes, Annie dashed into the bathroom to fix her hair quickly, and Rose found herself once more bombarded by Rhea, asking if she could please put some makeup on Rose, and didn't she want to look nice? As always, Rose refused; she didn't really feel like making an effort today, anyway. Like every other morning, Rhea sighed despondently and tucked her makeup bag into her trunk, and Rose promised her friend that if she ever did decide to wear makeup, Rhea could be the one to do it for her, which just made her roll her eyes and reply,

"Yeah, if you ever decide wear makeup of your own accord. Nifflers'll fly, Rose."

Ten minutes later, the five girls were ready and walking down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They headed for the far left table as usual, where the rest of the Weasleys and Potters sat, along with some of her friends' siblings, but Rose hesitated. Scorpius would be there, and she really didn't want to have to talk to him after his coldness yesterday. But where else would she sit? The rest of her dorm-mates kept walking towards the table, and Rose shook her head. She wants going to let her stupid boyfriend ruin her breakfast, or her day, for that matter. She was going to sit with her family, and no one was going to stop her from doing that.

Just about everyone else was already sitting down, so Rose and her entourage ended up squished in between people so they could talk to everyone. Rose slid in between Annie and Fred and helped herself to some eggs and bacon. She smiled as she saw Lizzie sitting next to Roxy down the end of the table - they were clearly plotting something, as Roxy was so distracted that a piece of sausage had just slipped off her fork and fallen with a 'plop!' into Lizzie's glass of pumpkin juice.

Rose turned back to Annie, who was complaining about the Potions essay that was due today.

" - and I've got five feet four inches, but Doppler said it had to be at least six feet. I mean, seriously, what else is there to write about hellebore?" Rose shook her head at her friend and started eating her breakfast and looked around to see who else was at the table. James was sitting across from her and talking to Sam about Quiddtich - it was actually quite funny to watch, as they were both gesturing wildly and appeared rather crazy until you realised that they were talking about Seeker tactics.

On James' other side was Al, and next to him was ... Scorpius. Rose looked quickly down at her plate, but not before he'd caught her eye.

"Morning, Rose," he waved his spoon at her as if they hadn't fought at all last night. Rose quirked her eyebrow at him and turned puts powerfully towards Annie. She wasn't going to pretend morning had happened - he'd been the one who started it, anyway, so he deserved whatever she gave him. "Hey, Rose," she stubbornly kept pretending to listen to Annie rave about her miserable hellebore essay. "Rose!" He was so exacerbated, and his voice carried so far along the table that Rose was forced to turn back to him.

"Yes?" She replied calmly. Great, now everyone was staring at them. Even James had stopped mid-gesture.

"I just wanted to ask you how you were," Scorpius deadpanned, and Rose's temper flared.

"Oh I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much!" She retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm, and he flinched.

"Come on, Rose," he pleaded.

"No you come on, Scorpius Malfoy! If you think you can just pretend that you didn't blatantly ignore me last night then you've got another thing coming!" Now the whole table was listening to them, even the students not part of the Potter/Weasley group.

"Nothing did happen," Scorpius gritted his teeth.

"Oh, of course!" Rose's voice was getting higher and higher in pitch, and she could feel her ears turning red; thanks, dad, she thought. "Just act like you didn't completely ignore the best thing that's happened to me in ages!" There was very little chatter in the Great Hall now, but Rose didn't care that everyone could hear her - she was so angry with Scorpius and his attitude. "When I finally get to do something that I want to - when I've got this amazing opportunity that could really impact my future, you couldn't care less! I'm sorry I bothered you with my dream - it won't happen again," she sneered.

"It's not like that, Rose," Scorpius said, his eyes steely. "But forgive me if I get bored after an hour of talk about your 'amazing' placement and Mr I-know-the-answer-to-everything Flynn!" Rose shook her head in frustration and stood up.

"So, maybe I was excited - and what's so bad about that? It's nothing compared to when I've listened to you rant about Quidditch!" Rose knew it was underhand, but he'd hurt her more than she cared to admit in that moment. "I've done nothing but been understanding while you complained about your useless beaters and all the 'cheaters' in the rest of the Houses for weeks!" Rose felt a perverse rush of satisfaction as his pale skin flushed almost imperceptibly. "I thought that that's what we were supposed to do: listen to each other! I guess it's fine as long as you don't have to do any work. We're supposed to be there for each other!" At her words, Scorpius slammed his fist into the tabletop and stood up as well, so she was now looking up at him.

"Yeah, and you're always there for me! When was the last time you made time to do something with me? Or anyone else for that matter?" Rose set her jaw.

"Last Sunday," she said, her face poker straight. Scorpius laughed drily.

"Oh, wow," he rolled his eyes to accentuate the sarcasm in his voice further. "And before that?" Rose's mind whirred; when was the last time she'd done anything with anyone?

"I ..." She stuttered, and Scorpius smirked. How had she ever found that attractive before?

"Exactly. So if you want me to make an effort, you've got to pitch in, too. Otherwise, we may as well be over." Rose bit her cheek in an effort not to hit him. She'd been nothing but supportive! And it wasn't as if he'd never been busy with Quidditch, either!

"Fine then!" She tossed her hair and tried to look nonchalant as her heart crumbled inside. "If you won't appreciate everything I've done for you, then I'm glad to be rid of you," she spat, and hurried out of the hall before she cursed him, trying desperately not to cry again. She hadn't cried since she was in first year, and suddenly she was a blubbering mess for the second time in twenty four hours.

"I think that we're all hoping that you'll help shed some light on the case, Rose," Flynn winked at her as they stepped out of the lift and into the Department of Mysteries. She'd come back into the Ministry after lunch as she had two spares this afternoon, and, just as promised, the Invisible Man had struck again, this time in the most highly protected area of the Ministry. They wound their way through the corridors and Flynn filled her in as they walked.

"The thief broke in at about one o'clock this afternoon, and again left no trace. At least, we haven't found any evidence as of yet," he scratched the back of his neck. "The Brain Room was broken into, and two brains were taken. I assume you understand how dangerous they can be?" He asked, and Rose nodded emphatically. She'd seen the scars on her dad's arms and heard the stories from both of her parents - the ones from her dad always depicting him in a more flattering light, of course.

"They were taken in their tanks, but aside from that, nothing else has been noticed to be missing." They turned the final corner and Rose peered down the end of the hall to see the rest of Midas at work in the Brain Room. Flynn stopped her at the door. "All entrances were sealed when the brains were discovered to be missing, so the thief either found another way in, or knew how to lock them." Rose cast her eyes around the room - there wasn't much else to see, but the team seemed to be trying to find magical and physical traces that were invisible to the naked eye.

"If you want to have a look around, you can - I just need to put a protective spell over you," Flynn explained.

"Yes, I'd love to have a closer look," she grinned, and he tapper her with his wand. A feeling not dissimilar to being Disillusioned washed over her. "Thanks," she told her mentor.

"Just yell if you find anything, or have any theories, okay?" Rose nodded, and walked eagerly into the crime scene.

It was hours later than Rose finally left the Ministry, tired and more than a little confused. She had no idea how the burglar had got in - and neither, it seemed, did the rest of Midas. She was even more disappointed to find, upon her arrival in the Gryffindor fire, that Scorpius wasn't there to meet her. Of course he wasn't - anyway, she didn't want to see him! They'd basically broken up at breakfast. Still, she was glad that Dom, Lily and Maddie were there to comfort her about her breakup. The rest of her dorm-mates were equally understanding and nice, but as she fell asleep, eyes only a little teary this time, Rose just wished that everything cod go back to the way it had been before all the stuff at the Ministry started - she was exhausted, frustrated and she missed Scorpius already, no matter how much of a prat he'd been.


	4. Chapter 4

"Sit," Rhea told Rose firmly as Dom pulled a chair out in front of the fireplace in the middle of the dorm. Trying not to roll her eyes, Rose sat down and began fiddling with the hem of her robes. She'd tried to tell her friends that she didn't want to talk about Scorpius, but they'd pulled a guilt trip on her and convinced her that she was the one not being a good friend if she didn't accept their help.

Rose would have been fine with it all - she had her own therapy, which was burying herself in school work, quidditch matches, and now her placement at the Ministry. It had been a few weeks since the last break-in, and the next was expected tomorrow. In an effort to catch the Invisible Man where all magic had failed, the Ministry had installed muggle security cameras throughout its premises, and encouraged all businesses which may be targets to follow suit. Rose wasn't sure if it would work - after all, no one knew if magic could really be captured by muggle devices anyway - but she would tell her Grandad Arthur about it when she went home for the holidays. She knew he, and most likely her dad as well, would find it fascinating - which was why she'd read up all about them so she could answer their inevitable questions.

"So, Rose," Dom said as she and the rest of Rose's dorm mates settled down around her. "First things first - what's your stance on this whole Scorpius thing?" Rose frowned.

"Sorry, what?" Dom smiled knowingly to herself.

"I mean, do you want to get back together with him? Do you want to avoid him for the rest of time? Do we need to plot revenge against him?" Rhea nodded in agreement.

"Of course I don't want to get back together with him! I broke up with him, remember?" Rose reminded her friends. "At least, not until he sorts himself out," she added, guiltily.

"And what do you mean by that?" Rhea asked, and Rose found herself feeling as if she'd gone in for a psychological examination.

"I mean, I'm not even going to consider him until he stops being jealous of what I've worked so hard for, and when he realises all the stuff I've done for him." The room was silent for a second.

"Rose, can I say something, and will you promise not to get angry?" Maddie looked at her keenly from her seat in the corner.

"Okay," Rose relied warily, and Maddie continued.

"Well, I don't think that Scorpius was jealous of you, Rose," she paused, considering her words carefully. "I think he was jealous of Flynn."

Later that afternoon, Rose was pondering her conversation with her friends as she walked up to her dorm to put her finished Defence Against the Dark Arts homework away. What Maddie had said did make sense - Rose had been talking about Flynn a lot, though it wasn't because she was interested in him, rather, the whole Midas team. At least she was able to understand where Scorpius may have been coming from, though - according to Dom, jealousy was a boy thing. And Rose has to admit that Flynnwasn't bad looking, and of course Scorpius had seen that when they'd gone up to meet McGonagall.

However, it didn't mean he was being any more sensible. Rose certainly wasn't going to let up about how he'd expected her to give up things she loved just because she was his girlfriend. She didn't make him choose between Quidditch and her, and so she'd expected him to be just as understanding when it came to her schoolwork and extra-curricular activities. Yes, maybe she was busy, and didn't have much time for anyone at the moment, but her friends seemed to be fine with that.

Maybe she just didn't have time for a boyfriend as well, Rose thought. It was probably best that she'd broken up with him - she really couldn't afford getting distracted, what with OWLs looming and this mystery at the Ministry to solve. As she thought, Rose climbed through the portrait hole and made her way up to her dorm, essay in hand. She thought she heard a scuffling coming from the room, and her heart leapt at the possibility that her parents had written - she hadn't had any letters from them for a few weeks now. Rose clambered up the stairs two at a time, but when she opened the door to the dorms, she looked up into a red flask of light and her vision blacked out.

Rose woke up, gasping as she lay on the heavily carpeted floor of her dorm. Someone was in there - someone who'd stunned her. She glanced at her DA bracelet - should she call her friends? It didn't really seem necessary, as her attacker was likely to be gone anyway, and she certainly didn't want Scorpius rushing up there. Rose had a feeling he'd be able to enter the girls' dorms if she asked him, or he thought she was in trouble - surely the Founders would have been smart like that. She fingered the phoenix shape embossed into the band, then pulled out her wand from her robes.

Rose leapt up so fast that she became dizzy, but after clearing her head she looked around to find that the room was empty. She tried the homenum revelio charm, but there was no one else there. The first thing she saw as she scanned the room was her trunk upended and her belongings all over the floor. Rose rushed over and sorted through the mess, searching for the items that she'd hidden in a secret compartment and sealed with a strong charm.

After a few minutes of looking, she had to admit that the thief had taken them, and a wave of shame washed over her - McGonagall would be so disappointed in her. Waving her wand, Rose sent a patronus message to her friends and the Headmistress, wondering his she was going to tell the Professor how she'd managed to lose some of Professor Dumbledore's greatest unfinished experiments and inventions.

"I don't understand - nobody knew about it," Rose repeated to Flynn and McGonagall later that afternoon. "Only Professor McGonagall knew that I was experimenting with Dumbledore's old works, and she was the one who approved it!" She was completely puzzled as to how the thief - which the Midas team had ascertained was, in fact, their elusive Invisible Man - had known that she, of all people, had the stolen items. Anyone else would have broken into the Headmistress' office to find them.

"That's not entirely true," McGonagall coughed softly. "I also had to inform the Ministry because of certain, shall we say legal, circumstances," Rose frowned at this revelation.

"So it could be - "

" - anyone working at the Ministry." Flynn finished for her. "Most employees would be able to find a way to access those files, if they were imaginative enough," he grimaced.

"Not all Ministry workers are as imaginative as you, remember," Rose joked. There must be some people would just wouldn't be able to get hold of the information - they'd have to narrow it down and look at the remaining suspects. Unfortunately, the Ministry had a rather large workforce, so this discovery was unlikely to get them anywhere. She voiced this thought to Flynn, who was looking at her strangely.

"Oh, yes, of course," he agreed, eyeing her warily. "So, can you run us through what happened?" Rose sighed, and launched into the third explanation of her afternoon in the past hour. No, she hadn't seen her attacker; yes, it had been about three-thirty when she'd gone up to the dorm first; no, there wasn't anything else missing. So by the evening, Rose was exhausted, and could barely even be bothered to go down to the hall for dinner.

"What was it like?"

"Was he wearing a balaclava?"

"You get all the interesting stuff happening to you!" Rose groaned as her family and friends' voices irritated her already painful headache.

"Hey, quiet down you guys!" Rose was grateful for Rhea in that moment, as her friend pulled her down to a bench at the table and plopped a plate full of steaming vegetables and chicken in front of her.

"Thanks," she muttered, and dug in, suddenly finding herself ravenous. She only looked up when Dom, who was sitting on her other side, tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Say hi to him, okay? Show him you're fine," her cousin suggested, and Rose didn't have to look far to see who she was talking about - Scorpius had just meandered into the hall with Al, and they were heading straight for the Potter, Weasley & Co. table. As they passed Rose and her group of friends, she managed to squeak out a passable "hi!", but though Al waved at her apologetically, Scorpius completely ignored her, the only sign that showed he'd heard was that his back became even straighter and his muscles tightened.

Instantly, her friends comforting hands were all over her, whispering words of Scorpius' treachery and Rose's kindness.

"It's okay," she said, surprising everyone. "I'm not going to waste any more tears over him - I'm stronger than that," she said firmly, and with those words she began to believe it herself. Rose Weasley did not cry over boys. Not even one boy. Or over anything, for that matter. Something in her eyes must have convinced them, because everyone resumed their usual mealtimeconversations, and this made Rose feel better as nothing else could. She just wanted it to go back to normal, how it had been before Scorpius had walked into her life and messed everything up. Funny how he was the only one who could make her strong enough to realise that.

Still, Rose's headache persisted, and she went up to bed early. As she was getting ready to go to sleep, though, her eyes caught something flashing, jammed between the drawers of her bedside table. Bending down, she plucked up the object and held it closer to her face - it was a fly's wing. Rose blinked, and almost missed it, but for a second, the wing flickered and became something papery, before reverting to normal. She watched this happen a few more times, pondering her discovery. It certainly hadn't been there this morning - could the burglar have left it, possibly? It seemed far-fetched, but if it was a clue it could be useful for the case, so Rose stowed it in one of her textbooks for safe-keeping, and jumped into bed.

For once, she slept soundly, her worries of Scorpius over and the answer to the mystery seeming closer than ever lulling her comfortingly to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

"Jordan!" Rose was jolted awake by Rhea's screeching. "What have you done to our dorm?" Rose rubbed her eyes, sat up, and pulled back the curtains from around her bed. Immediately she noticed the source of her friend's annoyance - the fire that usually stood in the centre of the room was electric blue and had started to spit tiny Catherine Wheel fireworks. At a second glance, Rose saw a lump of what looked like silver glowing at the base of the flames, which she guessed had caused the incident.

"I'm sorry!" Lizzie moaned. "It must have fallen in - it was an accident, I swear," she looked sheepishly at Rose. "You have to admit that it's pretty cool, though," she added, and Rose grinned at her other friends' scowls.

"Can I ask what exactly it is?" Rose enquired.

"It was a prototype that Fred, Roxy and I were developing," Lizzie explained, and Rose nodded in understanding. Trust the Weasleys. "We were trying to make a new line of magical fireworks for the shop - it was going to be a surprise for our dads." Lizzie stared gloomily at the fire, which didn't look like it would be returning to its normal colour any time soon. "It'll take us ages to find all the stuff we need again," she complained.

"What exactly did you put in there?" Rose asked, worry creeping into her voice.

"Well, we collected lots of stuff people had thrown out - old cauldrons and telescopes for the metal, which we melted down; all kinds of potion ingredients, though we had to buy most of them ..." Lizzie continued to list things as Rose's mind wandered. Something about this seemed familiar. She couldn't quite place it, but something about the ingredients jogged her memory - and then she had it.

"The Invisible Man!" She exclaimed, and the four other girls looked at her, slightly weirded out, but interested at the same time. They knew Rose had just come up with some crazy idea. "They're all the types of things that the thief I'm investigating at the Ministry is stealing," she explained. "Crystal balls, dragon's blood - he's building something," she murmured. "What is he building?" The room was silent for a moment as Rose pondered.

"Rose - " Maddie was cut off as Rose grabbed a textbook from beside her bed, accidentally hitting the bedpost with a loud thunk.

"This is how he's getting in," she continued, oblivious to everything around her. "I found this," she fumbled in the pages and pulled out a hair, "after the break-in yesterday, before I went to bed. Except it wasn't just a hair - it was flickering between hair and fly wing." Rose absentmindedly smoothed her hair down, which most closely resembled a bird's best after her night's sleep. "He's not an animagus - I'm pretty sure he's using a spell or potion to become a fly, and it started to wear off." Rose replaced the hair in between the pages of the book and set the volume down carefully on the pile that stretched from the floor up to her elbow.

"Rose, honey," Rhea said from across the room, a tinge of pity in her voice. "We really need to get you cleaned up, okay? Then you can go save the world." Rose blinked and grimaced. She supposed that she should probably have breakfast before doing anything else - though she'd much rather operate from her bed. It was so warm and comfy, and anyway, she'd already made so much progress without even having to move!

But the logical part if her brain stirred lethargically and she forced herself out of bed, preparing herself mentally for the weekend ahead. There was so much to do now - she had to tell Flynn and the others about her findings, and they'd have to go over the list of stolen items again, of course - and Rose would have to visit the library to find the spell it potion that the burglar was using ... But first, as Rhea reminded her slightly impatiently, came breakfast.

"So I'll send an owl to Midas, and then I'd better go to the library," Rose told her friends around a mouthful of egg.

"Finally getting your revision started?" Annie poked her.

"No, I need to look up transformation spells - see if I can work out this fly wing," she replied, but her friends frowned.

"Rose, it's not that long until exams - and it's not just end-of-year exams, we've got our OWLs!" Maddie reminded her. "Even Annie's started studying." Rose felt her stomach clench.

"I'll do it later," she said. "This is much more important." At this point Rhea stopped eating and leaned across the table so her nose was nearly touching Rose's.

"Rose Weasley," her voice was so serious and unlike her that Rose stopped eating mid-chew as well. "This is getting ridiculous. I don't know if it's Scorpius that's messed you up, but you're way too obsessed with this case. McGonagall let you do it because she thought you could handle it along with your schoolwork, and that it would be a great opportunity for you to supplement Hogwarts. You're still at school, Rose, the guys at the Ministry aren't. Let them handle it - you need to focus on your OWLs, okay? No one's going to care that you do work experience at the Ministry if you fail your OWLs." Rose was so stunned that she was speechless for a second. She'd almost forgotten that, beneath her blithe exterior, Rhea was actually pretty intelligent.

It was because of this more than anything that she stopped before lashing out like she'd done with Scorpius. She hadn't been seeing Rhea for who she really was - maybe she hadn't been seeing herself and her situation properly, either.

"Merlin," she whispered. "Stupid, stupid." She'd become so wrapped up in the Midas case that she'd ignored everyone else around her - it was a wonder her friends were still there, really. Scorpius had been right - though she wasn't going to say that he hadn't been in the wrong, either. Just as she hadn't been completely fair to him. Both their arguments had truth and lies weaves into them. "Oh, Merlin," she repeated. "I'm so, so sorry," she couldn't even look at her friends, just twist her fingers together

"It's okay, Rose." It was Lizzie's gentle hands that soothed her, though she knew she'd done nothing to deserve it. "Everybody mucks up sometimes, just took you longer, is all." Rose made a sound somewhere between a sob and a snort.

"You mean like when you blew up half the dungeon?" She recalled the dreary afternoon in second year when Lizzie had decided to experiment during their Potions lesson with disastrous results.

"Exactly," Lizzie's smile was evident even in her voice.

"And when Annie covered the common room with pies instead of the sky theme our Head Girl wanted," Maddie supplied, sending Rose into another fit of laughter. They continued to share their most embarrassing moments, including some that Rose had forgotten about, until breakfast had ended. As they walked out, Rose fell into step next to Rhea and voiced her last worry, which had been nibbling away at her for some time.

"What am I going to do about Scorpius?" Rhea looped her arm through Rose's and led them up the stairway to the Gryffindor Tower.

"We'll take that when it comes, okay?" Rose nodded, though a little disappointed at the supposed love expert's lack of advice. "Yes we'll take it when it comes. And when we've got a nice big supply of ice cream," Rhea added, winking, and suddenly Rose felt much better. She was sure if it was the ice cream or just her friends, but everything felt more manageable now - everything felt like it was back to normal.


	6. Chapter 6

Rose exhaled deeply as she stepped out of the swirling green flames and into the Ministry. Her stomach was fluttering in excitement - she had her notebook under one arm, full of theories and spells she was pretty certain would work, and the fly wing/hair carefully folded inside a piece of parchment in one of her robe pockets. Today she had something to show, today she had something to offer, today she might just bring Midas that much closer to solving the case. Yes, she had taken a break like Rhea had suggested, and even started her study timetable (she couldn't believe how much she needed to catch up on - how could she have left it so late?), but she'd also found time to so a few hours of research and sketch out a few spells that might help her understand exactly what the hair meant.

So, maybe she'd been avoiding Scorpius the whole weekend - but she'd been doing that for the past few days anyway. And yes, not even Rhea could come up with a strategy for Rose to employ to sort things out with Scorpius without becoming embarrassed - but she didn't care, did she, anyway? Besides, it was going to be awkward, any way it happened. She'd been the stupid one, she'd overreacted, she'd broken it off. And Rose kind of needed to sort it out soon - there was only so much time you could avoid your cousin's best friend for.

The thing was, Rose didn't like being wrong. She could count the number of times she'd admitted to being wrong on one hand. And Rose wasn't wrong very often, either. She only ever really stuffed up in matters of social interaction - and she had her friends to bail her out, usually. This time, though, she had to do it herself; she had to face up to her mistakes, in the full knowledge that Scorpius probably didn't want to do anything anyway - the only hope Rose had was that they might be able to act normally around each other, like before this whole fiasco. It was time to work now, though, Rose told herself. Show them your ideas.

A few minutes later she passed her mum's office (empty as usual - a meeting with the other Heads of Department, Rose guessed), and continued down the narrow corridor to the Midas rooms.

"Hey," she called as she pushed the door open to reveal the team crowded around the planning table. "I've got something that might interest you, Flynn," she added, finding the young wizard at the head of the table. Flynn looked up, and for a second appeared haggard and worried, but before Rose could really register his expression his eyes widened and mouth titled upward hopefully.

"Come into my office; I'm definitely interested." Rose followed Flynn to the back of the room, where a small area had been completely curtained off, complete with a door. They went inside, Flynn sitting behind his desk, Rose on the other side in a plastic chair.

"I found something in my dorm after you guys left," she said as she pulled the parchment out of her robes and began to unfold it. "It looks like a human hair now, but before it was flickering and changing into a fly's wing as well. I don't think it's from an animagus - most likely a wizard or witch using a potion or spell to change his or her appearance," Rose continued as she lay the hair out in front of Flynn and pulled out her notebook. "I've got some of my spells here which should tell us what exactly happened." She explained, pointing to the scribbled incantations and explanations in her book. Rose looked up expectantly, and saw that furrowed look on Flynn's face again - almost nervous. He coughed, then spoke quickly.

"I - I think we need to take this to another department, Rose. Come with me," he said, jumping up and leading her out of the miniature office. The rest of Midas waved as the two walked past, a few looking expectant, some reserving judgment. Rose followed Flynn down the hallway, until they stopped in front of a small door. He motioned for Rose to go in, and she opened the door and walked into a dark space.

"What - " she started, but broke off as the door slammed shut behind her, leaving only a chink of light flowing through the flap, which Flynn was holding open.

"Petrificus totalus." Rose desperately tried to pull her wand out of her robes, but she couldn't possibly be faster than Flynn, who had already cast the spell. Rose gasped as her limbs locked and she fell backwards to the floor. "Accio," he called again, and both the hair and her notebook flew through the flap and out of the door. Looking at the ceiling, Rose could see that she was in a broom cupboard - wonderfully cramped, of course. She heard Flynn muffle a few indistinguishable words outside, and a rush of air flew towards the door. He's bewitched the door, Rose thought. Great.

Now she'd have to break out of the body-bind, work out how to unlock the door, and then - what? Somehow, her brain had already accepted it - Flynn was the Invisible Man. Of course, it was perfect - he'd been able to tamper with the crime scenes, no one would possibly suspect him, and he had almost complete access to the Ministry. Rose felt so stupid - even more so than when Rhea had told her off, more than anything Scorpius had made her feel, more than any time she could remember. She had trusted end him, blindly - shouldn't she know better? Her parents had fought in the Second Wizarding War for Merlin's sake, she should know not to trust people like that. She hardly knew anything about Flynn, about anyone, in fact. It could have been any of the Midas group, and she wouldn't have even considered it. Stupid.

But Rose wasn't going to sit there feeling sorry for herself, no matter what Flynn might think of her now. She could feel the DA bracelet on her wrist - it was digging into her leg, so she should be able to call the others. Felix, she thought desperately. Desperately? Rose wasn't desperate, she was calm, wasn't she? He blinked, and looked up, and immediately tried to jump despite her body-bind, which was very unpleasant. From the ceiling, a type of white mist was descending - it must be making her lose focus. In fact, she was feeling pretty sleepy - but she had to call the others ... Felix, she thought again. Help, Felix, help. She repeated the mantra in her head, but it was no use - the mist was clogging her nostrils and mouth, and her eyes and ears, and the world was fading ... Maybe she should sleep, she thought. Aren't you tired? Of course I am. I'll just close my eyes for a second, she decided. Just one seco ...


	7. Chapter 7

Rose awoke to faint voices and a constant dripping sound coming from the corner of the broom cupboard. She didn't feel altogether conscious, however a pain in her wrist ebbed and rose in waves, which stopped her from falling asleep again. The voices outside came closer, and almost in sync the burning at her wrist intensified. Rose struggled to form coherent thought - her mind felt as if it had shut down and was only processing sensory input. She concentrated on the pain, something which didn't seem to be dampened by her foggy consciousness. It circled around her wrist, connecting in some places and in others dropping off completely, like an amulet - like a bracelet - like the DA band! - she screamed in her head as she broke through the barrier on her mind.

Rose would have breathed a sigh of relief if she hadn't been under the full body-bind curse - but how could it still be working? She must have been asleep for hours. In any case, it should be easier to break, she reasoned, and steadied herself to begin the tiring process that she knew non-verbal, wandless magic required. Rose didn't even think of another option, there simply wasn't any other way. No matter that she'd only read the theory about non-verbal magic, and her knowledge wandless magic was extreme limited. No matter that she'd only ever heard of accomplished wizards and witches using this type of magic - and none of them younger than about 60.

Most of the time, Rose followed the rules, and she'd be hard pressed to put a single toe out of line. Other times, however, she threw caution to the wind and did what she wanted, whether it was school rules or those concerning the space-time continuum. Today, she was determined to get herself out of the cupboard even though such magic should be impossible for anyone her age. Surprising what determination could do, really.

So Rose stilled her mind, concentrating on how it felt to cast the counter-curse; how she moved her wand; how the incantation felt in her mouth; how the magic worked. And then she opened her eyes and let it loose.

Instantly, she felt her muscles relax as the spell rushed through her, and this time she really did sigh in relief. Her joy soon turned to anxiety, though, as she sensed the magic continuing on past her feet and into the room. In hindsight, Rose realised that this was probably the biggest challenge of wandless magic - the direction and control. Desperately, she tried to grab hold of the spell, but not before it ripped through the cupboard and set paint pots exploding, oil igniting and dust flying everywhere. Rose curled up and turned over so that all of her body except for her back was protected, however she wasn't quite quick enough, and some of the resulting debris flew into her shoulder and stomach.

All this happened in less than a second.

When the first deafening crash faded, Rose whipped her wand out if her robes and catch a Shield Charm before turning over to survey the damage. Someone must have left a lot of Christmas decorations in here, was all Rose could think as she took in walls of green, red and gold glitter, splattered with slightly melted baubles and interspersed with various bits of cleaning equipment. On the verge of laughing, she glanced down at her robes, which were also covered with festive colours. In another wave of her wand, Rose removed the mess from the fabric and stood up slowly, her muscles screaming in protest - after all, she must have been lying completely still for hours. It was only then that she realised that her armband was beginning to heat up again - that must mean that the DA had come, that they'd got her distress call. Closing her eyes, she brought the surprisingly cold metal up to her lips and kissed it thankfully. Thank Merlin that her friends and family were so worried about her - and she guessed that they had good reason to be, after all the mess she'd been in.

Rose could hear pounding feet coming closer, slowing down every so often said unsure of the direction they were heading in.

"I'm here!" She yelled, or tried to. Her voice was croaky after all that mist that Flynn had set on her, so she ended up whispering hoarsely. Clearing her throat, she tried again, "I'M HERE!" She called, and the person started running again - whoever it was had to be close now. Could it be Al or James? Or maybe one of her dorm mates? She hoped that they hadn't brought Louis - he was way to young to get involved in all her mess. Maybe it was Hugo - her heart leapt at the thought - yes, he was an annoying little brother, but he was her annoying little brother. She was going to get out of there!

At this, Rose realised that she could get out of there right now - she had her wand, and she was probably the most likely out of all the DA to be able to break the bewitchment on the door. Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity, Rose tapped her wand gently on the wood and muttered a few words, running through all the possible spells which could counteract Flynn's. After a few seconds, the door jumped and clicked open, just as the thundering footsteps rounded the corner into the corridor. Rose swung the door open and a wave of embarrassment washed over her - Scorpius was standing right in front of her, looking a little disgruntled that he'd run all this way to find that Rose hadn't needed his help anyway.

"Ben Nevis? You've got to be kidding," Scorpius shook his head as the DA poured over the plans they'd found in a secret compartment in Flynn's desk. After Rose had caught them up to speed on the situation, they'd realised that they had no ideawhere Flynn had gone, so they'd turned to his office, where, with some help from a few of Al, Scorpius, and the other Weasley's pranking equipment, they'd found the plans for the machine that Flynn was building, as well as the location - Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the British Isles. The only problem was, they had no way of getting there fast enough. The DA had managed to hijack the fire Rose had taken to the Ministry to get there, but they couldn't take the Floo Network to Ben Nevis.

"You've been there?" Al looked at his friend strangely.

"Have I been there?" Scorpius rolled his eyes. "My dad drags me up there every summer. And let me tell you, it takes a hell of a long time to climb it," he exhaled heavily.

"So what are we going to do?" Rhea got straight down to business as usual. Rose had been cheered to find that all her room mates had come along with the DA - Fred had told Lizzie, and the rest had followed.

"Well, we can't fly, we don't have any Thestrals, the Floo Network is closed as well as the Ministry, and we couldn't take that anyway," Al ticked off on his fingers. "And none of us have had any Apparition lessons yet, though that's pretty much the only thing we could do now anyway." He finished wearily.

"But maybe we can," Annie piped up.

"Huh?" Al blinked.

"Maybe we can Apparate," she explained. "Well, not all of us, but Rose could," she looked hesitantly up at Rose. "You know the theory, and if you can do wandless non-verbal magic, I'm sure Apparition will be a breeze." Rose shook her head.

"Even if I could, Annie, I've never been to Ben Nevis. I can't Apparate to a place I don't know," she sighed.

"But Scorp has been there," James pointed out. "Couldn't you do it together? Ow!" He yelped as Rhea elbowed him not so discreetly in the stomach. Rose flushed and bit her lip, hoping Scorpius would respond first.

"It might just work," Al had a light in his eyes that reminded Rose of herself whenever she had a crazy idea. She decided that she didn't like that look any more.

"I - she began.

"Can you do it, Rose?" Scorpius cut in. It was the first thing he'd said to her in weeks.

"If there's any chance at all, I'll take it. We have to," he turned to her.

"I, well, there's a chance," she mumbled. "There's also a fairly large chance that I'll splinch us." Why wasn't he looking scared? Rose was terrified at the idea of trying to Apparate all the way to Ben Nevis.

"Then we'll have to risk it," he said firmly. "We'll go to Ben Nevis, and you guys try and find your way back to Hogwarts so you can get the Thestrals." The rest of the DA nodded and formed a circle around Rose and Scorpius.

"Okay," he stared at her. "Hold my hands tightly and don't let go,okay?"

"Okay." Rose replied. "You concentrate on the mountain, I'll do the Apparating." She took a deep breath. "Ready?"

"Ready." He closed his eyes and for a second, she let herself stare at him. He was certainly ridiculously attractive. His face was so close to hers, she could almost lean in and ... But they weren't together any more - she'd chosen that. So she wasn't allowed to do anything any more.

"Okay," she closed her eyes and concentrated completely on Disapparating. "One," she breathed in, "two," she pulled the magic in, "three!" She swung Scorpius around in a tight turn and they were jerked into swirls of blackness.


	8. Chapter 8

Rose gritted her teeth as she experienced strange sensation of being squeezed through a very long, extremely thin tube. _Concentrate_ , she willed to herself. _Determination, Deliberation_ ... she struggled for the last 'D' of Apparition her mum had told her about, and her dad had mocked. _Don't get distracted!_ She felt Scorpius slipping slowly away from her, and she scrabbled desperately in the dark to pull him closer again. _Determination, Deliberation!_ She kept forcing them through the invisible tube, concentrating on the magic flowing wildly around her. One wrong move, and who knows where they'd end up - was it possible to get lost in the limbo between Disapparition and Apparition?

Rose breathed in deeply to calm herself - or at least, she tried. The sense of being squeezed was even stronger now, so much that Rose could hardly draw in a normal lungful of air. _Deter - what was it?_ The magic flowed around her even faster now, as if sensing her panic. _Calm, calm,_ she told herself. They must be nearly there by now! Each shuddering breath Rose drew in increased her worry as each time she pulled less and less oxygen into her lungs. And Scorpius - _where was Scorpius?_ She could just feel his fingertips on hers, and she cried out in desperation, but her words were swallowed by the wind of magic. _Just - keep - going._ She could get them there, she could ... and then Scorpius' arms were around her suddenly, and the tube was stretching so that she could breathe, and Rose could see a light shining through her closed lids ...

Rose's eyes snapped open to see a blur of ground and metal below them - they'd found Flynn! But they couldn't be seen, couldn't be discovered, and they were about to crash-land right on top of him. In an instant, she had whipped her wand from beneath her robes and used a Propulsion Charm to change their trajectory to what she hoped was behind a large, leafy bush. Even as they were falling, she was muttering the incantation for the Dissolutionment Charm, and before the spell had reached either of their feet she had already cast a Cushioning Charm and was trying to orientate herself so she could cast the Muffliato spell on Flynn. She managed to aim her wand at him the split second before they hit the ground, and she hoped that it would be enough to cover the rather large whooshing sound they made as the Cushioning Charm burst into action. After lying there for a second, listening intently for any reaction on Flynn's part, Rose deemed it safe to get up, and she tried to. Except Scorpius was lying half on top of her, which made things rather more complicated, as well as causing her cheeks to burn.

"That was amazing," Scorpius shook his head in disbelief. "I mean, first you manage to Apparate us here with absolutely notraining or practice at all, and then you come up with a plan and cast about seven spells while we're still in the air so we aren't discovered? I could barely think of anything but 'Ben Nevis, Ben Nevis'!" Scorpius had propped himself up on his elbows slightly, but he was still, for the most part, on top of her.

"Yeah, well, I nearly lost you in there - and I freaked out. If you hadn't managed to grab hold of me again, I would have splinched us for sure. Half of you would be in Scotland, and the other half somewhere in the sea." Rose bit her lip and brushed her hair out of her eyes as she remembered the feeling of utter helplessness and desperation.

"Rose, if anyone but you had tried that, we'd still be in the Ministry, twirling around like morons." She had to laugh at that. Scorpius could always find some way to cheer her up, if not with words then by more persuasive means ... But that wasn't an option any more, was it? She'd gone an stuffed their relationship up, and a desperate mission to save the Wizarding World was definitely not the place to sort out boy problems.

"So, what's next on your Ten-Step Plan to Save the World?" Scorpius winked at her. "Is this one colour-coded?" Rose rolled her eyes at his teasing.

"Well, firstly you could start by letting me get up," she stared pointedly at him, and she thought she might have possibly seen his pale cheeks flush slightly. Scorpius rolled off her nimbly and then helped her up. Rose took in their surroundings and sighed. They were standing behind a bunch of mossy rocks on the very edge of the summit. To their left the mountain dropped into a steep decline which stretched on for around 10 feet. On the other side of the rocks, Rose knew, was Flynn and the metal contraption she'd glimpsed as they Apparated in.

"I wish we had the cloak right now," she smiled grimly. Her Dissolutionment Charm had worked reasonably well, but there was no way they could sneak up on Flynn in this terrain - there was hardly any cover, and the charm didn't exactly make them invisible.

"Wait a second ... " Scorpius rummaged around in his deep jacket pockets, and Rose felt instantly jealous. Whereas he was in comfortable muggle attire, she was still in her Hogwarts robes, which were not exactly suited to world-saving missions.

"It might still be in here - I did accidentally put it through the wash, though," he admitted apologetically. Rose gaped.

"You had the cloak in your pocket the whole time?" She asked him incredulously. Scorpius managed to grab a corner of the slippery material and was pulling it out of his pocket.

"Um, yeah." Rose rolled her eyes again.

"We could have used that coming in! Then I wouldn't have had to bother with the Dissolutionment Charm!" She had to admit that he looked quite amusing with the charm on him - his pale hair and skin took to the new pigment amazingly well.

"Sorry, I forgot!" He said a little defensively. "I wasconcentrating on finding you, remember?" He raised his eyebrow at her, and Rose flushed. She hoped that it was less visible with the charm. Knowing her luck, it would be more visible, if anything.

"Okay, get under the cloak, and then I'll remove the charm." Scorpius pulled the invisibility cloak around them obediently, and Rose muttered the incantation. She felt as if the spell was being peeled off her from the toes up.

"What's next, Agent Red?" Scorpius blew her hair playfully. "Reconnaisance?" Rose nodded in agreement.

"Let's go, but be quiet, okay? I'm not sure how well the Muffliato charm will work once we move."

They started to move out from behind the rocks, and Rose felt something niggling her at the back of her mind. They were probably going to end up duelling Flynn, and Rose needed to make sure that there was absolute trust between her and Scorpius if they were to have any chance of defeating the Ministry employee. She was going to have to sort this out, no matter how awkward it would be.

"Scorp, wait a sec," she pulled on his sleeve and he stopped immediately.

"What?" He stared back at her.

"I just - before we go do this, I need to clear things up with you." Scorpius' blank face turned into a frown.

"Can't we just let it - "

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," she interrupted. "I was being selfish and self-absorbed, and not just to you but to my friends as well. At least you were brave enough to point it out," she added sheepishly. They stood in silence for a second, and Rose thought that Scorpius was going to rebuff her again.

"You're not the only one who should be sorry, Rose," he said finally. "I did some pretty stupid stuff too. I was - " he cleared his throat, "I was jealous of Flynn. I know it's stupid - you'd never, ever even think about doing anything - but I really hated him. And then you'd talk about him every afternoon and evening, and I just ... " He trailed off. "I'm sorry too, Rose." He took her hand in his. "But, argh, Rose," he shook his head. "You really do have the worst timing." She stared at their intertwined fingers.

"So, you - you forgive me?" She stuttered.

"Of course! How couldn't I?"

"I - I don't know, I guess," she admitted. Scorpius put a hand on her cheek.

"The question is, do you forgive me?" His eyes searched hers for a sign of acceptance.

"Well, der," she rolled her eyes. Scorpius smiled and leaned in.

"One for good luck?" He whispered as his mouth drew closer to hers.

"Nuh uh," she removed his hand from her face and framed his own face with both her hands. "My turn." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss that made her miss him all the more. "Now, let me get rid of these robes, and we can go save the world."

A few minutes later, Rose had left her long flowing robes under one of the rocks and was feeling much more comfortable in just her school uniform, although she did wish that she had pants instead of a skirt. They'd crept around Flynn and his contraption, and Rose was beginning to get a sense of what it was supposed to do.

"Jobberknoll feathers for increased memory ... but Lethe River Water! And valerian sprigs and mistletoe berries - all the ingredients for a Forgetfulness Potion. Why counteract the potion with a memory enhancer?" Rose was muttering to herself as Scorpius kept an eye on what Flynn was doing. "Unless he wants some information forgotten, but some retained? Or easily learned? Oh!" She stopped suddenly, causing Scorpius to walk into her. "He's going to remove memories, and then use the Jobberknoll feathers to make them easy to manipulate! Coupled with a few relaxant spells ... " Her brain began working at a thousand miles a minute.

"So who's it for?" Scorpius prodded her when she remained silent for a few minutes. Rose frowned.

"I can't figure that out - there's some sort of amplification device on the end, and lots of protective spells surrounding it ... and why choose Ben Nevis?" She rubbed her temples. "What's so special about this mountain?" Scorpius coughed softly.

"It's the tallest mountain in Scotland, and England for that matter," he suggested. "Maybe that's got something to do with it?" Scorpius watched as Rose struggled to put all the pieces together.

"So he's going to change the memories of people from a high vantage point. He wants to get as much coverage as possible ... everyone in Scotland, England and Wales could he affected ... and then he's going to tell them something. Something they wouldn't believe normally. Something that would sound absolutely crazy ..." She racked her brains for the solution. What would shock people, which Flynn would want people to believe? And then she had it.

"NO!" She shouted refelxively, and instantly slapped a hand over her mouth. Scorpius' hand followed soon after, but they were both too late - Flynn had heard them, and in a flash he'd run over and grabbed the invisibility cloak off them as if he knew they'd try something like this.

Rose was petrified. She'd just lost them their best chance to stop Flynn from turning that machine on - and from revealing to the entire muggle population of Scotland, England and Wales that wizards and magic really existed.


	9. Chapter 9

"Stupefy!" A streak of red light shot out under Rose's arm towards Flynn as Scorpius went straight into the attack. Flynn deflected the spell with a flick of his wand and began hurtling curses at them with ferocious speed.

"Split!" Rose yelled and pushed Scorpius in the other direction, and Flynn's spells shot through the empty space in which they had been standing a fraction of a second earlier.

"So, the famed Miss Weasley finally figured it out, did she?" Flynn's voice was scathing as Rose dodged more his attacks and dove behind a small rock formation. "Unfortunately, you're just a little. Too. Late." He punctuated the final three words with a flick of his wand, and Rose cringed as his Reducto Charms caused huge chunks of the rocks she was sheltered behind to explode.

"You might want to check your WATCH!" She yelled the last word as she sent a curse around the side of the rocks and scrambled back behind them before Flynn could retaliate. "I think you'll find I still have enough time to deal with you." As she bantered with him, Rose's brain went into overdrive trying to work out a plan to stop Flynn from activating the machine. The rest of the DA would be coming at some point - hopefully with adult reinforcements - but she and Scorpius would need to hold him off until then, and who knows how long that could be? They'd need to work together, which was going to be difficult as Flynn was right in between them.

"Then tell me, Rose," Flynn said, stretching out her name, "how did I manage it?" She needed a way to communicate with Scorpius without Flynn knowing what they were up to. "How did I end up with all ... this?" Rose peeked over the top of the rock, through the dense moss growing there to see Flynn spread his arms, indicating the golden contraption behind him.

"It's simple, really, isn't it?" Rose called back. She could see a slight disturbance in the bushes behind Flynn, and she smiled - Scorpius was planning to sneak up on him. Perfect. "You developed a potion - or a spell, though I think a potion is more likely - that transformed you into a swarm of flies. Magical wards wouldn't pick up on something so insignificant, but as a swarm you would have had enough strength to carry the objects out," Rose moved slowly around the rock as she spoke.

"Yes, yes." Was that a glimmer of pride in his voice? "And I trust that you understand what my contraption does?" Rose was nearly around the side of the rock, but Flynn was still angled towards the other end, and she took this to believe that he thought that she was still there.

"You're going to wipe everyone's memories of Wizards and Muggles," she started slowly. "You're going to make them susceptible to suggestion, and make them believe that magical and non-magical people have lived in harmony forever." Rose's brow furrowed. "You're going to dissolve the Statute of Secrecy." Flynn strolled back to his machine and began screwing the last few sections together.

"Top marks, Rose," he said, and Rose narrowed her eyes at him. She hated it when people treated her like a goody two-shoes teacher's pet. Just because she was smart, it didn't mean that she was stuck up. "You've grasped the concept wonderfully. Now why do I get the impression that you believe this is a bad idea?" He reached for another piece and proceeded to use his wand to attach it to the top of the machine.

"You can't possibly believe that wizards and muggles could coexist peacefully," Rose said scathingly, and Flynn shook his head.

"They have, can and will, Rose," he said. "Besides, how is this any different from what you did with that Goblin Wand Rights bill?" That startled Rose. Why, really, couldn't they do this? The Ministry, of course, would be furious, but so had they been about the wand rights. However, the goblins had been given a right - a choice - whereas Flynn sort to force this life upon everyone, and that was why she had to stop him.

"The thing is, Flynn, there's one big difference between what I did and what you're planning." Rose glanced over to where Scorpius was crawling closer to Flynn - he'd had to change direction when Flynn had moved over to the machine, and he still had a way to go. Rose would have to come up with something, and fast - Flynn had almost finished adding the last piece to the machine.

"And what might that be?" Flynn stood up and started stalking towards Rose, the finished machine towering behind him. He had his wand raised, and Rose knew that she didn't have long to figure out a plan. Fortunately, she had something swirling around in her head. Unfortunately, it only had about two concrete steps.

"The difference, Flynn, is that you aren't giving people a choice." Rose felt her voice getting stronger. "You're planning to manipulate people's memories and beliefs for your own ends, and that is precisely why I'll never support this." Rose leaned her back against the rock, breathing deeply. Here goes, she thought.

"Then I'm afraid that you - " Flynn started.

"Wronski Potter Attack!" Rose yelled, and prayed to Merlin that Scorpius knew what she was talking about.

The Wronski Potter Attack was a Quidditch manouvre which had been invented by James after the Weasleys and Potters had seen Viktor Krum at the Quidditch World Cup nearly four years ago. It usually involved the Seeker and up to three Chasers, but she and Scorpius would have to make to with what they had - which, unfortunately, did not include brooms. With that, Rose leapt over the rock and used a charm to blast herself into the air. As she somersaulted once, Rose took the time to put a Bounce spell on her shoes and survey the situation. Scorpius had somehow managed to understand Rose, and was attacking Flynn in short a Quidditch match, he would have been the closest Chaser to the Quaffle, which in this case was Flynn. He would attempt to take the Quaffle whilst Rose, the Seeker, would streak in front of the Chaser as if in pursuit of the Snitch - hence the 'Wronski'. The aim of this manoeuvre was to distract the Chaser so that he or she would drop or loosen his or her grip on the Quaffle. In this case, Rose was hoping her interference might be enough to allow Scorpius to Stun Flynn.

Rose adjusted her trajectory with a small flick of her wand so that she was able to plant her feet on the side of another boulder and, with the help of the Bounce charm on the soles of her feet, rocket past Flynn. As she passed him, his eyes shot up to her, widened in shock, and she desperately fired a few Stunners in his direction. Unable to see if she'd hit her target, Rose lashed out with her foot as the shot past Flynn, her boot connecting with flesh in a satisfying crunch. Rose landed deftly on the ground a few feet away from where Flynn and Scorpius were duelling, and groaned inwardly when she saw that Flynn was relatively unscathed. There was a large red welt on his forehead, and a small trickle of blood welling over the bruise, hut aside from that he seemed unharmed. Even as Rose prepared to rush into the fight, Flynn suddenly grasped his wand with both hands and slammed it, tip down, into the grassy ground. A spell rippled through the soil, blasting Rose and Scorpius away from Flynn and left them sprawling on the ground.

Disorientated, Rose looked up at the sky to see the air wobbling, and her heart leapt - the rest of the DA were coming! On her other side, however, there was a sudden flash of fire and the DA appeared in the sky, tumbling from midair. They were followed by Felix, who landed gracefully and made to move over to Rose. Suddenly the mountain was filled with noise, her friends yelling and spells flashing. Rose turned back to the other portion of sky to see none other than the Minister of Magic Apparate along with a team of Aurors, though neither her dad or uncle were among them.

"I think this has gone far enough, Flynn. Miss Weasley has proven her dedication to the cause," the Minister's voice carrier around the rocky environment, and Rose's eyes narrowed. This had all been a setup?

"It seems you have made a rather large error, Minister," Flynn grinned wickedly. "Unfortunately for you, I have no intention of stopping now." The DA was still firing random spells at Flynn as he lunged for the initialisation button on the huge golden contraption. Somehow Flynn managed to dodge each curse, and Rose cried out as he reached the button and the machine began to whir and produce mist from a few horns scattered over it. Belatedly, a multitude of curses hit him, and the Ministry worker slumped, but the damage was done. As the mist engulfed them all, Rose had no time to do anything, and in the split second before the cloudy substance touched her, she instinctively pulled a Shield Charm together around her.

Rose panicked for a few seconds inside her protective bubble. She had to stop the mist from spreading - but how? She couldn't move through the gas without being affected by it, but she has to get to the machine to turn it off. She had to make it manageable somehow ... and then she had it. Building up the spell she needed whilst inside her shield, Rose readied her other hand to dismiss the protective charm without her wand. One breath in, and then she was ready.

Rose slashed her wand-free hand to lower the shield, and even as it dissolved she threw the spell from her wand into the mist. Its effect was immediate - all around her, the mist turned to solid crystals and dropped to the ground. Not even stopping to survey the damage, Rose ran towards the machine, which was still pumping out gas. Using the same spell, she solidified the remaining gas and used the Reducto curse to blow the machine to bits, protecting herself and everyone else on the mountain with another Shield Charm.

As she finished this, Rose sighed deeply and let her tense muscles relax. All around her, the DA and Ministry officials were staring blankly around them - they'd obviously been affected by the mist, and Rose hoped that she'd been fast enough to protect them. Turning to the Minister, Rose felt a sudden fury. He'd obviously set this all up to test her loyalty to the Ministry - though she had no idea why - and the fake criminal, Flynn, had evidently found the idea so attractive that he rebelled from the Ministry. Rose sighed again. So much for her saving the world and being a real Ministry employee.

She was standing on the top of the mountain, feeling lost and unsure, when two people Apparated a few feet away from her.

"M - Mum? Dad?" Rose said disbelievingly as she ran towards her parents. "What are you doing here?" When she reached them, her dad lifted her up off the ground in a huge bear hug, and her mum wrapped her arms around both of them.

"We're so, so sorry, Rose," Her dad said, mumbling into her hair.

"We had no idea that the Minister was planning this - it's despicable," her mum's voice was venemous.

"We should have been able to stop this from happening," her dad set her back down on the ground and shook his head, and Rose stepped back.

"Mum, dad, the Minister was obviously keeping it secret from everyone - how could you have done anything?" She herself had only figured it out once it was blindingly obvious, so how could they have known, when it was evidently very secretive?

"It's kind of our job, Rose," her mum smiled crookedly. "And we failed."

"You'd think that a top Auror and the Head of Magical Law Enforcement would be able to do something to help their daughter," Her dad said jokingly, and Rose smiled.

"It's okay, dad." She hugged both her parents again. "You're here now, doing what parents are supposed to do."

"And what's that?" Rose smiled at the frown in her dad's voice.

"You might not always be able to stop the mess from happening, but you're awesome at clearing it up," she explained.

"Very true." Her mum stared pointedly at her dad, which made Rose laugh.

"And you're the best cleaner-upperers I could have ever asked for," she squeezed her dad.

"Glad to know that's what you think of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and one of the Ministry's most respected Aurors," her dad joked, which made all of them laugh.

And at that moment, Rose knew that everything was on its way to being cleared up.


	10. Chapter 10

_MOVE OVER MUM AND DAD, IT'S MY TURN TO SAVE THE WORLD_

Rose Weasley rivals her parents' exploits, revealing Memory-Wipe plot

 _BY Rita Skeeter, cont. p2_

 _LAPSE OF MEMORY?_

Ministry under fire over management of Memory-Wipe case

 _BY Colin Creevy, p3_

 _FELLED BY HIS OWN SWORD_

Ministry worker behind the Memory-Wipe plot in St Mungo's, memory loss suspected

 _BY Jenna Bones, p2_

 _ROSE IS RED, THE MINISTRY'S BLUE_

Rose Weasley's exclusive letter to the Daily Prophet spells the truth

 _To the Editor,_

 _I am writing to clear up the story surrounding the investigation which I have recently been involved in, and is now more commonly known as the 'Memory-Wipe' case. There has been much printed in your paper about this topic, and I regret to say that little of it is completely factual. I would like to set these imaginings to rights._

 _Some time earlier in the school year, I was offered an internship at the Ministry, in the Magical Investigation and Dangerous Activity Squad, also known as MIDAS. I believed that this was because of my part in the recovery of last century's Goblin Wand Rights Bill - however, the Ministry's real intent was last week found to be along quite different lines. The Minister himself had instructed my mentor and leader of MIDAS, Mr Flynn, to create a fake crime which would test and ascertain my loyalty to the Ministry. My friends are family are inclined to believe that the Ministry was nervous about me because of my advanced comprehension of and skill with magic, however I would say that it was because of my tendency to unearth things people would rather stay hidden, such as the Wand Rights bill._

 _In any case, I will not go into detail about how I ended up discovering this plot, but I will say that the Minister made a grave mistake in appointing Mr Flynn. The head of MIDAS was so taken by the crime that he had dreamed up to test me that he decided not to hold back at the last minute, and he would have succeeded in forcibly integrating the muggle and magical worlds had it not been for a group of my friends assisting me._

 _I would warn the Ministry against trying this tactic with either myself or any other individual again - in my case, it has certainly hindered rather than helped my relationship with our governing system. I do also draw attention to the fate of Mr Flynn, who was hit with a number of spells thanks to my friends which resulted in a Confounding-like effect. Mr Flynn ended up swallowing a concentrated amount of his memory-wipe substance which is precisely why he is currently in St Mungo's. I believe that I am perfectly capable of protecting myself as demonstrated here, and find myself rather glad of this fact now that the Minister has shown his true colours._

 _Rather disappointed in our governing system,_

 _Rose Weasley_

 _Fifth Year_

 _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _A full report on the Memory-Wipe incident is available on pages 2 to 5_

The last few weeks of term were rather hectic for Rose, to say the least. First of all, she had her OWLs to prepare for, which she had unfortunately neglected during her internship at MIDAS. Somehow, she managed to ready herself before the exams rolled by, and Rose was thankful more than ever that she had inherited her mother's prodigious memory, for although her dad was intelligent enough, she knew he would have barely scraped a pass in her position.

Secondly, quite a few things from the school year had caught up with Rose. Professor McGonagall had called Rose into her office the week after exams had finished to question her as to why she had been neglecting her prefect duties. From all the excitement of the past few months, Rose had managed to do what she wouldhave thought was impossible - that is, she had completely forgotten that she was, in fact, a Gryffindor prefect. The other prefect for her house, Oliver Peakes, had not reported her absences, and so her tardiness went unnoticed until the Headmistress had seen Oliver performing his required patrols alone. Professor McGonagall seemed to think that Oliver was too shy to confront Rose about the patrols, however Rose was pretty sure that he used her absences to spend time with his girlfriend, who was also in Gryffindor and would not have appeared out of place walking with him during his duties. After much apologising and carefully self-deprecating conversation, Rose managed to convince the Headmistress to both not relieve her of badge, and to not punish Oliver, though it had been a difficult endeavour.

The event which had prompted Rose to write to the Daily Prophet, however, was that of an unexpected visit from the Minister for Magic. His explanation of the circumstances which had 'forced' the Ministry into action and his hardly adequate apology had made her sick to the stomach. That very evening, she had penned her scathing letter to the Prophet's editor (complete with a separate note suggesting that they should print the entirety of it without comment lest they wish to get a visit from her parents, or - Merlin forbid - her uncle, the great Harry Potter) and sent it using Al's owl.

Things were not all bad, though. She and Scorpius now had a lot more free time, what with her internship over (she'd decided that although she had liked the other members of MIDAS, she just couldn't be at the Ministry any longer), and the Quidditch season concluded (Slytherin had managed to scrape their way to a win over Gryffindor, but Rose was hopeful that if she joined the team next year her house would break her boyfriend's winning streak).

The Potters and Weasleys had also received word that both families had places in the Top Box for the Quidditch World Cup, which was to be held over the summer. Everyone was looking forward to it (Al, James and Hugo had nearly trashed the whole common room in their excitement at the news), especially as much of their parents' DA would be there.

Rose had sworn off her detecting for the rest of the school year, but she was adamant that she'd start up again come September. It was becoming more and more important to her, especially career-wise. After all, the fifth years were now selecting their NEWT subjects, and Rose had found that her possible career paths had changed dramatically through the course of the year. It had seemed to her that the most natural place to work was the Ministry, but now Rose found herself with a lack of faith in the institution. As she had said to the Minister, their plan had backfired - whereas they had wanted to prove her loyalty to them, she now found herself avoiding current and future interactions with the government wherever and whenever possible.

She'd promised herself that she wouldn't dwell on the incident, and let herself enjoy the summer holiday - and she planned to follow through with that promise. So she let her friends distract her as they lounged about, worries ceased now that their OWLs were over, and she realised that in a sense that she was extremely lucky, really. After all, at least she had found out the Ministry's true colours before she was locked into a career there.

As Rose sat with her friends, family and Scorpius on the edge of the lake, she stared off at the sunset, smiling at Felix as he tumbled around in the air, and realised that she felt freer now. She wasn't going to do what everyone expected of her and join the Ministry - she herself didn't even know what she was going to do, but it was going to be for herself. And she knew that the people that really mattered to her - her friends and family - would accept that.

And that - that - was all that really mattered.


End file.
